A student-focused checklist for creating infographics

Abstract

PurposeThis paper discusses efforts to produce instructional support objects for undergraduate students engaged in creating infographics, an alternative assignment growing in popularity at the authors' university.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examined scholarly, professional, trade and open-web sources to identify best practices for design and data visualization for this type of assignment. They categorized their findings and used a preponderance-of-evidence method for final selection of relevant practices. The authors detail the creation of their support products (instructional checklists and example infographics) and offer recommendations for librarians engaged in similar efforts.FindingsDespite the growing popularity of alternative assignments, guidance for best practices in data and design as they relate to student-created infographics is nascent, and best practices for design and data visualization in this context have yet to be concretely identified. Without extant guidance for student-created infographics, the authors developed a checklist of potential best practices for design and data visualization.Practical implicationsThe use of alternative projects assigned in lieu of traditional research papers is growing. Additional guidance may be required for students creating non-traditional works as standards and best practices for these projects are under-developed in the academic setting. Librarians will want to consider their role in supporting students assigned to create an alternative project.Originality/valueA consideration of best practices for data and design visualization for students designing research infographics has not yet been written.

Educating students about the ethical principles underlying the interpretation of infographics

“…16 Even at universities, there is a growing popularity of infographics used by students for submitting their research findings and assignments. 13 Huff, 17 in his book "How to lie with statistics," outlines things to avoid when presenting statistical information, such as bias, unclear statements, and cherry-picking, as these can cause harm. Huff argues that statistics are unreliable when evidence is missing and can be deceptive if important information is omitted.…”

“…One approach that universities can follow to introduce best practices to their students in creation of good quality infographics is to draw on publicly available guidelines and standards. 13,14,22,24 In this way, students, as future producers of infographics, could better understand the ethical issues raised by infographics by being equipped with the knowledge of how to mitigate ethical issues and protect users from any potential harm.…”

“…However, no emphasis has been given to providing an ethical lens or framework to help mitigate ethical issues and produce ethical infographics. 13,14,22,24 The main goal of our research is to create ethical awareness among the future producers of infographics. Embedding ethical principles into university curriculums for students studying statistics may help to mitigate the underlying ethical issues.…”

“…These 10 aspects have been identified as important in the literature. 13,24 The participants' answers provided us opportunity to measure their ethical knowledge and reflections based on what they had learned during the ethical training phase of the study.…”

“…Some universities provide best-practice checklists to produce effective infographics for students. 13,14 The learning system needs to include ethical principles to help students distinguish between producing aesthetically appealing versus ethically effective infographics. Producers also need to keep the perspective of users in mind when providing ethically sound infographics.…”